Combo group

TonySwartz · Veteran Member Joined: 03 Sep 2002 Posts: 487

Hey all,

You've been helpful before, maybe you guys can point me in the right direction here. I'm looking to start up a little combo type group basically just to play in some local coffee shops, little venues, etc. and to play at some indoor football half times/national anthems. 2 questions:

1) Where would I look to find some music for say alto sax, trumpet, bari sax, and rhythm that would be fairly easy to put together and still fun to listen to? Any chart suggestions? Some soloing is desired, not necessarily in every instrument though. The "band members" I have aren't pros in soloing, neither am I. Just want to get around and play a little.

2) For the football, anyone know a good "jazzy" arrangement of the national anthem or do we just need to come up with our own? Anyone know a cool version of the national anthem period, besides the original version? How about some "half time" music? Anything interesting you know of there?

Thanks! I'll post here if I find anything on my own.

brad333 · Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 9:37 am Post subject:

You should probably invest in some fake books. Often small combos don't need arrangements as long as everyone has/knows the melody and chords. You may want to write your own arrangments for some tunes but most of the time the rhythm section comps and the horns play the melody in unision, then, whoever wants to solo can. Sometimes you can work out arrangments that are just verbal like everyone plays the A section on Oleo but the trumpet blows over the bridge.

Good luck!

GMacDaddyTPO · Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 6:29 pm Post subject:

Jazz combo at football games? Not heard of that one yet...

But yes fakebooks are a good idear...

surfhorn · Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2005 6:44 pm Post subject:

We took our stripped down jazz ensemble to one college football game
(3 trumpets; 3 bones; 5 saxes; bass; guitar, Fender Rhodes piano; kit drummer) way back in 1972. We did the Jimi Hendrix version of the National Anthem - did not garner great reviews from the short haired crowd, though. But we were such a hot group the other school's pep band refused to even play more than one song.

We were a bunch of long haired hippy types and were not asked back.
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